Winona Leon, 18, is a typical college-bound teenager. She brims with excitement at the prospect of the world outside Fort Davis, TX, from where she is expected to graduate at the top of her high school class in June.

Leon has always excelled academically but had never expected to attend college. Her parents are not in the picture and struggle to support her younger half-siblings, so money has always been in short supply. “School was the one place I really felt at home,” she said.

She shares a tiny house with her grandmother, and the nearest Walmart is an hour-and-a-half away. Her parents, who live 60 miles away, have not offered to pay her college tuition. She and her grandmother get by with her monthly social security check and Leon’s own earnings from a part-time job at Murphy’s Pizza. Continue Reading >>